Logan Webb San Francisco Giants pitcher deals to the Arizona Diamondbacks line up in the top of the first inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Thu Apr 18, 2024 (AP News photo)

Thursday, April 16, 2024

Arizona (9-11). 000 000 000. 0. 3. 1

San Francisco (9-11). 001 000 04x. 5. 8. 0

Time: 2:12

Attendance: 26,896

By Lewis Rubman

SAN FRANCISCO–Returning from an exhausting six day, six game visit to Florida’s two coasts, in which they went a combined 3-3 against the Miami Marlins and Tampa Bay Rays, the San Francisco Giants (9-11) returned to their home on McCovey Cove to face the landlocked Arizona Diamondbacks (9-11) this evening.

Looking at the pitching matchups, it looked like a chance for the home team to finally start playing at a level that the mid-spring training acquisitions of Matt Chapman and Blake Snell seemed to predict. Snell still was rounding himself into shape, but the Giants were sending Logan Webb, the runner up to Snell in last year’s Cy Young voting, against Arizona’s sophomore right hander Ryne Nelson, and his unprepossessing record of 1-2,5.27 complimenting his rookie numbers of 7-8, 5.53.

But a quick glance at the Diamondback’s media notes yields an unsettling bullet point in its summary of Nelson’s ’23 season: “On June 25 @ Giants, tossed a career-high-tying 7.0 innings. . .retired 15 consecutive batters after a first-inning walk to J.D. Davis and was 1 strikeout short of tying his career high of 7 set in his Major League debut.”

Webb, following his one run, six hit win over the Rays five days ago in St. Petersburg, was in fine fettle tonight, retiring 19 Arizonans in a row between two first inning singles and a one out walk in the seventh. In total, he labored seven frames and allowed only those two hits and that walk.

No other Diamondback reached base safely He logged five strikeouts and threw 102 pitches, 66 of them strikes. He earned the win in San Francisco’s thrilling 5-0 triumph in a game that was closer than its final score would indicate. Webb’s performance improved his record to 2-1, 2.93.

Nelson didn’t get a chance to strut his stuff tonight. Mike Yastrzemski lined the Diamondback’s starter’s 27th offering back to the box, where it caroomed off Nelson’s pitching elbow, which suffered a contusion. The injured hurler retrieved the pellet and threw it to first to end the second inning. He didn’t come out for the third in what was at that point a scoreless tie and so wasn’t involved in the decision

Patrick Bailey greeted Logan Allen, Nelson’s replacement, with a double to left. The Giants escaped The Curse of the Leadoff Double when, one out later Lee got his second straight single on a ball hit just past short and into left center field that was scored as another infield hit. LaMonte Wade, Jr’s sacrifice fly to center put San Francisco ahead, 1-0.

That was all the scoring that the orange and black could muster against Allen in his valiant 4-2/3 innings of emergency relief, over which he allowed three hits and a walk before giving way to Bryce Jarvis with two down in the home seventh.

Tyler Rogers pitched a scoreless top of the eighth, helped by a sensational diving catch by Yastrzemski of Gabriel Moreno’s leadoff dying quail to right.

Jarvis had a rough time in the home half of the eighth. Ex Diamondback Ahmed started things with a leadoff double. Lee reached first on an error by second baseman Ketel Marte. Wade walked to load the bases. Soler forced Ahmed out at home on a grounder to short. Manager Torey Lovullo yanked Jarvis and called on Kyle Nelson to stop the Giants’ rally.

He didn’t. Wilmer Flores pinch hit for Conforto and slammed a double to left, which brought in Lee and Wade. Lee’s tally was unearned. Arizona decided to grant Matt Chapman an intentional walk, making the bases FOG, full of Giants, Estrada flew out to right.

Then Yastrzemski came through with a sharp single to right to plate Soler and Austin Slater, pinch running for Flores, and put San Francisco definitively ahead, 5-0. Bailey’s strikeout ended the inning. All the runs but Slater’s were charged to Jarvis.

Ryan Walker needed only 13 pitches to strike out the three Diamondbacks he faced in the t0p of the ninth to nail down the victory. Jung Hoo Lee’s two singles extended his hitting streak to 10 games.

Arizona’s Jordan Montgomery will make his first appearance of the season Friday, evening at 7:15. Blake Snell (0-1, 12.86) we’ll see if he’s gotten into shape when he takes the mound for the Giants.